Work vehicles typically include internal combustion engines that require clean air for use within the combustion process. Since many work vehicles, such as tractors and other agricultural vehicles, operate in fields and other harvesting environments in which the ambient air contains large amounts of dust, plant material and other particulates, an air intake system having an effective filter assembly is required. For example, conventional filter assemblies for work vehicles typically include a vortex or cyclone pre-cleaner configured to separate large particulates from the intake air and a porous air filter downstream of the pre-cleaner to provide the final stage of filtering prior to delivering the air into the engine.
To prevent the air filter from clogging, the large particulates separated from the intake air by the pre-cleaner must be removed from the filter assembly. Typically, such particulates are removed from the filter assembly via an outlet duct using a vacuum generated by the exhaust flow from the engine. However, the vacuum generated by the exhaust flow is often insufficient to meet the performance requirements of the filter assembly, thereby causing the air filter to plug within a short period of time.
To address these issues, U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2011/0072769 (Vladaj et al), entitled “Air Intake System,” discloses an air intake system including a fan module mounted directly to the filter assembly which is dedicated to delivering a vacuum that sucks large particulates from the pre-cleaner. Specifically, the fan module includes a fan and a motor housed within a sleeve, with a rotational axis of the fan and the motor being concentrically aligned with a central axis of the sleeve. During operation, the large particulates are sucked from the pre-cleaner and flow through the sleeve along a flow path radially aligned with and extending parallel to the rotational axis of the fan and the motor. However, while such a system is capable of removing the larger particulates contained within the intake air, the smaller particulates not separated by the pre-cleaner typically flow downstream and become trapped within the air filter. As a result, the air filter will eventually become plugged and must be cleaned or otherwise replace.
Accordingly, an air intake system that is capable of both aspirating large particulates separated by the pre-cleaner and removing particulates trapped within the air filter would be welcomed in the technology.